


House Rivalries

by millijayne13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Cedric Diggory Lives, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Hogwarts Prefects, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Meet-Cute, Romance, Slytherin, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27304681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/millijayne13/pseuds/millijayne13
Summary: Request: hi! i have a request if you’re interested in writing for cedric!! i was thinking about a cedric x reader where they’re in a relationship & prefects at the same time (preferably slytherin reader). i think it’s fun to imagine how young hufflepuffs and slytherins would feel about the relationship and cedric w/ a slytherin would be a nice dynamic :) cheers if you choose to write it!
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Original Female Character(s), Cedric Diggory/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	House Rivalries

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Tumblr @iliveiloveiwrite
> 
> Warnings: swearing, fluff
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed!

You lay across the brown leather couch in the Hufflepuff common room; resting your head on Cedric’s lap, smiling as he runs a hand through your hair. You shift in his lap, pushing your head further into his hand. Cedric smiles down at you, happily obliging, now scratching your scalp.

A Second Year Hufflepuff crinkles their nose at you. She has been watching the scene for a while now; looking between the mustard yellow of the common room and the emerald green of your robes and prefect badge.

“What?” You ask, a smile on your face, “Do I smell bad?”

“No… you’re a Slytherin.” She whispers; her eyes wide as if worried she’ll be caught speaking to the enemy.

You chuckle, sitting up from Cedric’s lap.

“House rivalries are strong especially when it comes to Quidditch, but it’s important to have friends in other houses – you never know when you may need them. Plus…” You continue, pausing for dramatic effect, leaning close to the young student, “Your future partner might be in a different house.”

“I don’t have time to think of love,” The young girl says, turning her nose up at the very idea of it.

You chuckle, “You’re only in Second Year; that’ll change by Fourth Year, I can assure you.”

“Is that how you felt with Cedric?” She asks, her eyes flickering between the two of you.

You bite your lip, glancing at the bronze-haired teenager sat next to you. He’s pretending to act uninterested in the conversation, instead, focusing on the book now in his lap. But you know better; having known him long enough to know that all of his attention is now on you and whatever words are to come out of your mouth.

“It took a while for me and Cedric to get to where we are.”

The Second Year Hufflepuff furrows her eyebrows, “Why?”

You sigh, nudging Cedric with your elbow, bringing him into the conversation. “We’d always been friends with feelings for each other; we just didn’t have the nerve to tell the other.”

“Why didn’t you tell each other?”

You raise an eyebrow at the inquisitive youngster who blushes from the look on your face; feeling thoroughly admonished despite no words having been uttered.

“I’m sorry,” She stutters, “I hope you don’t mind all the questions.”

Cedric slings an arm around your shoulders; dropping a kiss to the side of your head before replying. “We don’t mind at all: what do you want to know?”

The young Hufflepuff straightens from the attention of her prefect. “How long did it take for you to tell each other how you felt?”

Cedric looks down at you with a soft look on his face, “I think we dodged the subject for a year or so.”

“A year?” The girl cries, “That long?”

He chuckles at the girl’s reaction. Nodding, he replies, “I was too scared to say anything on my end in case it ruined the friendship.”

You nod along with his words, “It was the same with me. We’ve known each other for so long; we didn’t want to ruin what we already had.”

“But you both felt the same?” She asks, eyebrows furrowing as she tries to understand.

You fiddle with your fingers for a moment. Until Cedric takes your hand in his, tangling your fingers together.

“Are you sitting comfortably?” Cedric asks the younger student. At her nod, he continues, “Then we’ll begin.”

****

House rivalries at Hogwarts had always been strong, ever since the founding of the school over a thousand years ago. Salazar Slytherin being an island unto his own compared to the other three founders who had banded together in unity. Yet, despite the unity, rivalries grew strong over time; separations becoming more defined by the characteristics that enabled students to join their houses.

The Sorting Hat sat on your head for three minutes before deciding upon housing you in Slytherin. It had deliberated between Slytherin and Ravenclaw before settling on Slytherin, deciding that your determination outweighed your need for academic success. You had a plan and you were sticking to it no matter what.

The Sorting Hat barely needed to touch the flyaway hairs on Cedric Diggory’s head before calling out Hufflepuff. He was the epitome of the house; fiercely loyal and kind.

The friendship started in Second Year; he ran into you as he left Quidditch practice, knocking you to the ground. You huffed as you hit the ground, the wind being knocked right out of you.

“Are you okay?” Cedric practically shouts, holding a hand out to help you up.

You take in a couple of breaths, blinking away the tears, “I’m okay,” you gasp, grabbing his outstretched hand.

“I’m so sorry,” Cedric apologises, pulling you up.

You take your hand from his, brushing the dirt from your uniform. “It’s okay, no harm, no foul.”

Cedric smiles at you, “That’s good. I’m Cedric by the way.”

“I’m (Y/N).”

“It’s nice to meet you, (Y/N).”

You laugh, “It’s nice to meet you too, though I need to get going, and I think you need to get changed.”

Cedric laughs, looking down at his Quidditch uniform, “I do. I’m sorry again,” he says before turning away from you.

“It’s no problem,” you whisper, watching him walk away.

After that initial encounter, you started seeing Cedric everywhere you looked. It was as if your mind had switched to a radar where it was only aware of where he was. You’d spot him in classrooms; in the Great Hall; on the corridor. He’d be everywhere, and every time he spotted you, he would smile so widely, it knocked you breathless for a minute – just like he did when he knocked you over.

The friendship started when he sat next to you in the library. You had noticed how often he frequented it, but he had never sat next to you until one morning in March. You didn’t notice he had sat next to you, too caught up in your Potions essay for Snape, until he cleared his throat. You jumped at the sudden sound in the silent room, but relaxed when you saw the Hufflepuff, smiling at you from across the table.

“I like you, (Y/N).”

“You what?”

“I like you; I think we could be great friends.” He states.

And that was that. Cedric Diggory was good at reading people; he knew who was good and who was bad, and he could tell from the get-go that you were an innately good person at your very core. So he wanted to be friends with you; he wasn’t bothered about houses, he couldn’t care less. He just wanted to be friends with someone he could like, and that was you.

The friendship continued through your formative years, Cedric picking you out of a crowd – meeting you outside classrooms. He’d even join you at meal times; either sitting with you at the Slytherin table or dragging you over to the Hufflepuff table. Your friendship was questioned by a lot of people; curious as to why Cedric would make friends with a Slytherin, but they didn’t need to understand the friendship. It wasn’t for them to understand.

He made you happy. You made him happy.

And why should that be the subject of gossip for the student body at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?

It was inevitable that you’d fall in love with him; three years of friendship and you’d fallen in love with him. Everything about you screamed for him. He was like the sun, and you were a simple planet in his orbit. You gravitated towards him and your heart fell for him over a simple smile shared in the library. That was all it took; a secret smile – one you knew he reserved only for you and you were a goner.

After that, you couldn’t ignore your feelings for the Hufflepuff. Your heart raced in his presence; your palms got sweaty when his touch would linger on your shoulder or your waist. He affected you all the time; he had eve started to feature in your dreams where he would press you against a wall and kiss you senseless. Those dreams had you waking with your hand touching your mouth, as if you could still feel the pressure of his lips; as if they were swollen from his kisses.

Fifth Year began with the stress of OWLs and the appointment of Prefects. Both Cedric and you being appointed with the great honour. Dumbledore smiled at you as he handed the badge for you to pin your robes.

Leaving the Headmaster’s office, Cedric takes you into his arms, hugging you. “Look at you, Slytherin Prefect!”

You grin, “Who’d have thought it?”

“I did, I had every confidence in you,” he says softly.

You nudge him with your elbow, “You are a sweetheart… and a Hufflepuff Prefect!”

He grins down at you; the smile so big it crinkles his eyes in the corners. It sends your heart into what you’re sure are palpitations; it knocks you breathless, as Cedric so often does.

\------

Over the course of your friendship, the library had become the place where you could find Cedric, no matter the day. He would always be found in the same place; three stacks from the back, sat at the table to the right.

It’s where you find him as the countdown to OWLs gets smaller and smaller.

You sit down next to him, “How are we today, Ced?”

“OWLs are kicking my arse.”

You gasp, “Cedric Diggory, language!”

He chuckles, “I apologise. OWLs are kicking my butt.”

“You’ll do amazing, Ced. You’ve been revising for months.”

Cedric bites his lip, worry crossing over his features.

You sigh; worry was going to be the thing that killed Cedric. “How about this,” you propose, “you get the grades for your OWLs and I’ll take you to Hogsmeade for a Butterbeer?”

Cedric raises an eyebrow, “Are you asking me on a date, (Y/N)?”

You laugh, “You know, I think I am.”

Cedric joins your laughter, “Alright. I’ll get the grades and I’ll go out with you to Hogsmeade.”

You hold your pinkie finger out to him; he wraps his around yours, “Pinkie promise.”

\--------

On results day, Cedric gets the grades.

He celebrates by pulling you in for a kiss.

*****

“So you’ve been going out since then?” The Second Year Hufflepuff asks.

You nod; your hand wrapped tightly in Cedric’s. “Almost eighteen months now.”

“So Slytherin’s aren’t all bad?”

You shake your head, chuckling, “No, Slytherin’s aren’t all bad.”

“And you love Cedric?”

You nod, “Very much.”

The young girl nods satisfied with your answer. Until she asks, “Do you think you’ll get married?”

You choke on your saliva; eyes wide. You turn to Cedric, letting him take this question. He laughs at the expression on your face, “Who knows? Maybe one day.”

You grin at his words; warmth flooding your body matching the happiness coursing through your veins. Cedric returns the smile with just as much feeling; pecking your lips before turning his attention back to the young girl who is practically bouncing in her seat.

“What do you think of house rivalries now?” You ask, curious to see whether you’ve changed her mind.

The girl blushes, ducking her head slightly, “I don’t think they’re so bad now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed!
> 
> Tumblr: @iliveiloveiwrite


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